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October 05, 2004

* Joe L., Hampton: In his Sept. 25 column, Dave Fairbank ridicules Hampton University and suggests that administrators, faculty and staff talk in ignorant, ebonic dialect, i.e., "Hampton University rarely feels compelled to 'splain itself." For the record, Hampton University is rich in literacy, boasting a faculty decorated with numerous Ph.D.s and a student body that averages over 1,100 on the SAT. Mr. Fairbank is obviously equating the speech pattern he might hear in the ghetto to the language he expects to hear at Hampton University.

Editor: Thanks for bringing up this misunderstanding, which editors here have discussed at some length already with administrators at HU. Please bear with this explanation, which precedes an apology. The expression "'splain" is a very common allusion to the classic TV comedy "I Love Lucy." It comes from a typical comic situation from that show, in which husband Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz) would say, in his Cuban accent, "Lucy, you got some 'splainin' to do." It was a running verbal gag in the show, and for whatever reason has taken such a common spot in popular language that it's virtually overused at this point. Just Google "'splain" or "'splainin' to do" if you want a sample of the thousands of Web sites that include some takeoff on the phrase. You can even hear a sample of it from "I Love Lucy." So that's the derivation and that was Dave Fairbank's allusion when he used it in the column -- common, innocent slang from classic TV. Having said that, though, I'll also say it was an unfortunate word choice in a serious column about an unexplained absence on the HU sports staff. We might have seen the risk of that misunderstanding, and we apologize for any offense it unintentionally caused.

* John, Williamsburg: The caption for the photo of the white reindeer being led into St. John the Divine Cathedral incorrectly lists St. Frances as the reason for the celebration. The correct Roman Catholic saint is St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals. The Daily Press continues to be embarrassed by careless editing at the Associated Press.

Editor: Whether that caption came to us that way from the AP or not, our editors should know how to spell the St. Francis associated with animals. Please see the correction on this page. *